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Anmol Bali looks as to why the Reds have reasons to feel happy about as the American is one of the top players in the Premier League linked to a move to Anfield...

Liverpool’s summer of transition under Brendan Rodgers continues as the former Swansea manager is on the lookout for players who can pass the ball, keep possession and most importantly, make it count.

A look at the stats from last season and its quick to notice that the Reds have had the second most number of successful passes in the attacking third in the Premier League but it takes a total of 105 such successful passes for them to score a goal, which is the lowest in the league.
 
So essentially Liverpool need clinical players who can put the chances created to bed, and one such player linked with the Merseysiders has been Clint Dempsey. With Liverpool chairman Tom Werner expressing admiration for the American midfielder, it seems that the 29 year old will be one of the top transfer targets this summer.

“We never talk publicly about our transfer targets. However, any team would be lucky to have Clint Dempsey playing on their squad,” Werner told Goal.com back in May this year.

Dempsey’s last season’s staggering performance managed to summon many big clubs interests’ wherein he scored 23 goals and provided seven assists which made him the top scorer and also the Player of the season, now for two consecutive years for the Cottagers.

Switch from the MLS to the Premier League...

He has been integral for Fulham since joining the club back in 2007 when they were fighting to keep their place alive in the Premier League. Fulham offered $4 million to Major League Soccer (MLS) in December 2006, the highest fee ever offered for an MLS player. This tagged him as “The most expensive US export to the Premier League”.
 
However things didn’t go as planned for Dempsey as it took him three months before he scored his first goal against Liverpool which resulted in a 1-0 home win. This result helped Fulham debar from relegation and also assured an effective fight ahead.
 
He continued his goal scoring the season after and eventually finished as the club’s joint top scorer with seven goals alongside Andrew Johnson and also helped his club finish seventh on the table, which is the highest in their history.
 
During the 2009-10 season, Fulham entered the Europa League play-offs, wherein, Dempsey scored his first ever goal in European competition against Russia’s Amkar Perm in a 3-1 victory. After having suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in January, and in only his second game since coming back, he scored the winner against Juventus, a marvellous chip from 20 yards that earned Fulham a 5-4 aggregate win at the Cottage. This, according to many, was one of the most important goals in the club’s history.

The first American in a major European final...

Then came May 12, the Europa League Final between Fulham and Atletico Madrid where Dempsey became the first ever American to appear in a major European final but that wasn’t enough, as Diego Forlan scored a dramatic goal in extra time and lead his team to a 2-1 victory.

His performance throughout the 2009-10 season earned him appellations with La Gazzeta Dello Sport, an Italian newspaper, naming him as one of the top eleven Premier League players of the season.
 
The season 2010-11 once again highlighted his consistency as he scored 13 precious goals and broke Fulham’s all time goal scoring record in the Premier League. He had scored a total of 33 goals for the team rising above Steed Malbranque and Brian McBride each with 32. He finished as the club’s top scorer wherein they ended in eighth position.
 
Dempsey is the most versatile player in Fulham’s squad whose been endowed with skills to play in three different attacking roles, the left and right wings and centre attacking midfielder.
 

PLAYER SEASON APPS GOALS DEMPSEY 2010-11 37 12 2011-12 37 17 INIESTA 2010-11 24 8 2011-12 27 2 D.SILVA 2010-11 35 4 2011-12 36 6 M.OZIL 2010-11 36 6 2011-12 35 4

He has been a threat to the opponent’s defence every time he is on the ball with his agility, dauntless dribbling skills, long range shots and through balls coming to the fore.

He had attempted 139 shots last season from which 88 have been on target. He now also holds the record of most goals scored by an American in the Premier League and is currently the longest serving player of Fulham along with Simon Davies.

So as illustrated, Dempsey has all the attributes to succeed at Liverpool and shall boost their attack by sharing the burden of goal scoring with Luis Suarez. Dempsey, being an American, would also boots the popularity of Liverpool in the homeland of club owners, Tom Werner and John Henry.
 
Presently Joe Cole and Jordan Henderson are playing in a similar role for the Reds. So ostensibly, Dempsey might face competition with the former Chelsea winger as the latter is looking forward to his comeback after completing a season long loan spell at Lille.
 
Rodgers is very precise regarding his vision for the club. He is an attack minded coach and looks forward to play aesthetically and win trophies.
 
So Dempsey, if brought in, there would certainly be a congenial atmosphere for him to work in. However as a formal bid is yet to be made, the Reds boss persists to rectify the blunders made by King Kenny.

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